Camp Half-Blood Reads: The House of Hades Tartarus Chapters
by WiseGirl1993
Summary: Exactly what the title implies. Camp Half-Blood reads the Tartarus chapters of The House of Hades. (Percy/Annabeth Chapters)
1. ANNABETH I

**Hey, guys! As promised here is a new story! Its Camp Half-Blood reading The House of Hades, but with a small twist. Their only reading the Tarturus chapters! **

**Hope you enjoy this first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does. (Everything in bold is from The House of Hades, its Rick's!)**

* * *

Thalia walked along the beach, hands in her pockets. Eyes glistening with tears. Only the day before Connor had received a note from Annabeth, explaining her and Percy's situation.

Camp Half-Blood's hero's, Thalia's best friends, were in Tartarus. The pit where monsters go when they die, in other words Greek _hell_.

"Stupid, Hera!" Thalia shouted to the sky. It was all her stupid 'step-mothers' fault. She'd switched Jason and Percy, as part of her 'exchange program' that was apparently _for the better_.

"It was." Thalia spun around and her electric blue eyes began to spark. Behind her stood none other than the mother of Olympus herself.

"Hera!" Thalia snarled, Hera rolled her eyes.

"Yes, that would be me." She smirked. Thalia balled her fists and began to slowly walk towards Hera, sending off sparks as she went. Hera didn't seem phased, she simply smiled.

"Your dead!" Thalia threatened, Hera chuckled.

"Before you try and kill an immortal Goddess, I'd like you to know that I have this..." Hera thrust a large book towards the daughter of Zeus. Thalia raised an eyebrow before snatching up the book.

The book read: _The House of Hades Tartarus Chapters. _Thalia frowned, opening the book she cupped her hand over her mouth in shock. The first page read: _Annabeth. _"I thought you and your filthy camp deserved to know what was happening to your hero's." Hera said, Thalia looked up at the Goddess.

"Thank you!" She said, quickly adding. "But this doesn't mean were friends! I still hate you!" Hera chuckled,

"Likewise." She agreed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Thalia clutched the book in her hands, before running as fast as she could towards The Big House.

* * *

Thalia watched Chiron as he stood in front of the entire camp. The centaur cleared his throat and all eyes turned towards him.

"As you all know, two of our campers fell into...Tartarus." Chiron let those words sink before continuing. "Hera thought we deserved to know what is going on. So she gave us this," Chiron held up the copy of: _The House of Hades Tartarus Chapters. _

"Is that-" Malcolm gasped, Chiron nodded.

"A document of what Percy and Annabeth are going through. Who would like to read first?" Hands shot up into the air, Thalia being one of them. Chiron smiled. "Thalia. Hera gave the book to you, so you can read first." He said.

Thalia smiled faintly, "Thanks, Chiron. I-" She was cut off by a loud _pop_ and standing in front of the campers were Poseidon and Athena themselves. Everyone stared at them,

"What?!" Athena grumbled. "We wish to know what is going on with our children," she said simply. Everyone understood, after all Annabeth and Percy were definitely Athena and Poseidon's favorite off-spring, and they were worried about them.

_Like normal parents..._

Thalia found herself thinking with a small smile, Athena and Poseidon were acting like mortal parents worried for their children.

"Get on with it!" Poseidon ordered, Thalia glanced at Percy's father. The Sea God looked worried and his face was unnaturally pale.

Thalia took a deep breath before beginning.

**Annabeth **Thalia read her friends name shakily.

**Nine days. **

**As she fell, Annabeth thought about Hesiod, the old Greek poet who'd speculated it would take**

"Nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus." Malcolm whispered.

**nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus. **

Malcolm grinned slightly at this though his face, along with all the others campers was pale. Thalia glanced towards Athena and Poseidon. They both wore a mask of worry. Thalia took a deep breath before continuing.

**She hoped Hesiod was wrong. **

"We all do." Chiron murmured, the campers nodded in agreement. Travis and Connor Stoll who didn't like to be sad at all tried to lighten the mood.

"What do you suppose they'd do for nine days?" Connor asked,

"Yeah. Probably whisper lovey dovey words in each others ears!" Travis exclaimed. At this smiles spread across the campers faces, even Athena and Poseidon had small smiles playing on their lips.

**She'd lost track of how long Percy and she had been falling-hours? A day? It felt like an eternity. They'd been holding hands ever since they dropped into the chasm.**

"Aww!" The Aphrodite campers squealed and despite herself, Thalia had to smile.

**Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight**

"That is SO cute!" The Aphrodite campers squealed again, Athena looked somewhat angry and Poseidon had a 'Percy grin' on his face.

**as they tumbled through absolute darkness.**

A blanket of dread fell upon the campers, everyone was usually quiet.

**Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears.**

"There's wind in Tartarus?" Will asked looking confused, Chiron shrugged.

"I don't know. I've never been down there..." his voice became a whisper. Thalia quickly continued.

**The air grew hotter and damper, **

"Not good." Clovis murmured, even he was managing to stay awake.

"They're nearing the bottom," Athena said with a shiver. Thalia clutched the book harder.

**as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon.**

"With they're luck, they probably are." Grover said sadly.

**Her recently broken ankle throbbed,**

"Oh, Gods! Annabeth!" Katie cried, Travis patted her shoulder and Katie seemed to relax, slightly. Athena's expression was pure anger.

**though she couldn't tell if it was still wrapped in spiderwebs.**

The Athena campers paled,

"No! It can't be Arachne!" Malcolm begged looking at his mother. Athena sighed,

"I believe it is." She murmured sadly.

**That cursed monster Arachne. Despite having been trapped in her own webbing,**

"Ouch." Connor grinned.

**smashed my a car,**

"Double ouch!" Travis joked.

**and plunged into Tartarus,**

The Stolls were silent.

**the spider lady**

"Annabeth and her humor!" Chris whispered, everyone cracked up at that but the happiness only lasted seconds.

**had gotten her revenge. **

"Damn!" Clarrise cursed her eyes pools of fire.

"She always does..." Athena murmured.

**Somehow her silk had entangled Annabeth's leg and dragged her over the side of the pit, with Percy in tow.**

At this Athena rose to her feet, "I will personally kill that monster when she appears next!" Poseidon nodded,

"And I will assist you." He said darkly.

**Annabeth couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive,**

"She probably is. After all your in Tartarus," Jake mumbled. Not making the mood any better, Thalia took a deep breath before continuing.

**somewhere below them in the darkness. She didn't want to meet that monster again**

"No one does." Athena muttered. The Athena campers murmured agreement.

**when they reached the bottom. **

"Wouldn't they you know be, dead?" A small new eight year-old camper asked quietly. Athena and Poseidon looked like they wanted to snap the girl in half but they managed to stay calm. Thalia quickly rushed on.

**On the bright side,**

"There's a bright side in Tartarus?" Connor looked amused.

**assuming there _was_ a bottom,**

"See!?" The little girl piped up again.

**Annabeth and Percy would probably be flattened on impact,**

The campers cringed.

**so giant spiders were the least of their worries.**

"True dat!" Travis joked.

**She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob,.**

"They're perfect together" Thalia murmured. Poseidon and Athena looked at each other before sighing.

"I suppose they are..." Athena whispered, to much surprise. Thalia just grinned.

**She'd never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters.**

"Again...true dat!" Travis chuckled. Chiron and the other campers just muttered agreement.

**That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks _invented_ tragedy.**

"Stupid Greeks!" Poseidon said,

"You are Greek!" Athena snapped. The campers smiled at this, it was such a Percy/Annabeth conversation they could almost imagine Athena was Annabeth and Poseidon was Percy.

**They knew the greatest hero's didn't get get happy endings.**

"She stays so positive," Grover murmured. This received a few chuckles but everyone knew, deep down Annabeth was right.

**Still, this wasn't _fair_. **

"Never has been," Chiron muttered, Thalia nodded in agreement.

**She'd gone through so much to retrieve that statute of Athena.**

The Athena campers gasped and looked towards their mother, Athena nodded, eyes sparkling. "Annabeth did it." She breathed.

**Just when she'd succeeded, when things had been looking up and she'd been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their deaths.**

"Still positive, bright and cheery!" Travis joked.

**Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.**

"No we couldn't...we wouldn't." Poseidon murmured. Athena nodded in agreement.

**But Gaea wasn't like other gods.**

"That is true, very true." Chiron whispered.

**The Earth Mother was older,**

"Much." Athena said with distaste.

**more vicious, **

"Yep." Poseidon agreed.

**more bloodthirsty.**

Everyone nodded.

**Annabeth could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths.**

"Probably is," Clarrise muttered darkly.

**Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy's ear. "I love you."**

At this everyone smiled, and of course the Aphrodite campers (minus Drew) squealed.

**She wasn't sure he could hear her-but if they died, she wanted those to be her last words.**

More squealing, Travis snorted.

"Still positive!"

**She tried desperately to think of a plan to save them. She was a daughter of Athena.**

"Come on, Annabeth! Think!" Malcolm urged.

**She'd proven herself in the tunnels under Rome,**

"You proved yourself before then." Athena whispered.

**beaten a whole series of challenges with only her wits.**

"You always do." Thalia murmured.

**But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall.**

"THINK HARDER!" Poseidon roared.

**Neither of them had the power to fly-not like Jason, who could control the wind, or Frank who could turn into a winged animal.**

"Frank must be Roman," Chiron muttered.

"He can change in animals?" Travis exclaimed, "Sweet!" Everyone laughed.

**If they reached the bottom at terminal velocity...well, she knew enough science to know it would be _terminal_. **

At this the Athena campers and Athena herself roared with laughter while everyone stared at them, dumbfounded.

**She was seriously wondering whether they could fashion a parachute out of their shirts-**

"Desperate." Chris muttered.

**_that's_ how desperate she was-**

Chris smiled faintly.

**when something about their surroundings changed. The darkness took on a gray-red tinge. **

"Oh Gods!" Athena whispered, which made everyone feel worse.

**She realized she could see Percy's hair as she hugged him.**

"Awww!" Guess who said that?

**The whistling in her ears turned into more of a roar.**

Silence.

**The air became intolerably hot, permeated with a smell like rotten eggs.**

"Disgusting!" Drew exclaimed. Everyone glared at her, she crinkled her nose.

**Suddenly, the chute they'd been falling through opened into a vast cavern. **

Dead silence.

**Maybe a half a mile below them, Annabeth could see the bottom. For a moment she was too stunned to think properly.**

"I would be to." Chris muttered,

"Annabeth can't think!" Connor exclaimed sarcastically. Athena glared at him and he shut-up.

**The entire island Manhattan could have fit inside this cavern-**

"Wow," Everyone breathed.

"Must be big!" Travis joked, which received him a punch in the arm from Katie.

**and she couldn't even see its full extent.**

"Bigger than I thought!" Travis joked, Katie punched him again.

**Red clouds hung in the air like vaporized blood.**

"It probably _is_, vaporized blood." Poseidon muttered glumly.

**The landscape-**

"Leave it to Annabeth to look at the landscape while she's plummeting to her death." Connor mumbled.

**at least what she could see of it-**

"Oh yes, because the cavern _is_ big!" Travis joked, *cue punch.*

**was rocky black plains, punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms. **

Silence. Every camper just took this information in, each trying to imagine Tartarus.

**To Annabeth's left, the ground dropped off in a series of cliffs, like colossal steps**

"Same old, Annabeth." Malcolm smiled.

**leading deeper into the abyss.**

"Oh, Annabeth!" Thalia said, tears brimming her eyes.

**The stench of sulfur made it hard to concentrate, **

"EWW! DISGUSTING!" Dew screeched.

**but she focused on the ground directly below them and saw a ribbon of glittering back liquid-a _river_.**

"NO! ANNABETH DON'T!" Poseidon jumped to his feet, everyone just stared at the Sea God. His fists were clenched and he was as pale as a child of Hades.

**"Percy!" she yelled in his ear. "Water!"**

Athena seemed to realize what Poseidon meant and she to jumped to her feet, "ANNABETH DON'T!" The campers were confused, wasn't a river good for a son of Poseidon?

**She gestured frantically.**

"Annabeth, please...my son..." Poseidon's voice was a whisper now.

**Percy's face was hard to read in the dim red light. He looked shell-shocked and terrified,**

"Doesn't he always?" Clarrise joked.

**but he nodded as if he understood.**

"Probably didn't." Rachel said, smiling. "After all there's a reason Annabeth calls him Seaweed Brain!" This statement received many laughs and the Stoll brothers looked jealous.

"So she can make a joke and we can't?" They grumbled, everyone laughed and Connor and Travis brightened.

**Percy could control water-**

"Not this!" Poseidon roared.

**assuming that _was_ a water below them. **

"Sort of..." Athena murmured her voice dangerously quiet.

**He might be able to cushion their fall somehow.**

Poseidon just shook his head sadly.

**Of course Annabeth had heard horrible stories about the rivers of the Underworld. **

"We all have," Chiron agreed darkly.

**They could take away your memories,**

"Already happened to Percy!" Connor joked. This joke no one found funny.

**or burn your body and soul to ashes.**

"Joy." Clarrise muttered.

**But she decided not to think about that.**

"Good idea," Jake muttered.

**This was their only chance.**

"I suppose, so." Nyssa said dully.

**The river hurtled toward them.**

Everyone closed their eyes, as though they, themselves were plunging to their deaths.

**At the last second, Percy yelled defiantly.**

"I can imagine that!" Thalia chuckled, tears streaming from her eyes.

**The water erupted in a massive geyser and swallowed them whole.**

"My son!" Poseidon called,

"My daughter!" Athena echoed. Thalia closed the book,

"Who wants to read next?"

* * *

**Wow! That took a lot of time to write all down! I hope it was worth it and you enjoyed reading it! Please review and I'd love you to check out my other stories. (They're all PJO)**

**Until the next update...**

**~Bye!**


	2. ANNABETH II

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

** I can't believe the great response I got on the last chapter! I mean seriously, 39 reviews, 83 faves and 117 followers in ONE chapter! Thank you all SO much, I love all the feed-back! Keep it coming!**

**I'm sorry for the wait guys but I've been pretty busy and it takes time to sit down and write the actual chapter and then go back and add all the campers commentary. I'm updating as fast as I can. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does. (All bold words belong to Rick, they are from the real The House of Hades!)**

* * *

Clarisse snatched the book from Thalia's hands and turned the page so fast, it was like the book was an bomb that was about to go off. Knowing Hera it probably was.

**Annabeth **

Clarisse read with the same shaky voice as Thalia.

"Oh, come on!" Travis complained, everyone turned to look at him. He grinned, "We want some Percy chapters!" Everyone laughed and the brothers high-fived. Katie and Thalia just rolled their eyes.

**The impact didn't kill her,**

"Thank the Gods!" All the campers murmured.

"Your welcome." Poseidon replied cheekily, Athena slapped him atop the head and everyone chuckled despite the situation at hand.

**but the cold nearly did.**

"...nearly, that's a good thing, right?" Connor joked, breaking the silence.

No one replied.

**Freezing water shocked the air right out of her lungs.**

"That can't be good," Katie murmured softly.

"No duh! I thought you were the smart one!" Travis teased. Katie punched him.

**Her limbs turned rigid, and she lost her grip on Percy.**

"How tragic," Athena grumbled.

**She began to sink.**

"ANNABETH NO!" Malcolm and other Athena campers yelled.

"Percy will save her surely?" Thalia said though it was more of a question.

"My son cannot control these waters." Poseidon muttered.

**Strange wailing sounds filled her ears-millions of heartbroken voices, **

"Ignore them Annabeth, _please_!" Rachel begged her green eyes filling with tears.

"You can do it!" Clarrise urged, much to everyone's surprise.

**as if the river were made of distilled sadness.**

"Probably is." Jake muttered, clenching his fists.

**The voices were worse than the cold. They weighed her down and made her numb.**

"Annabeth fight!" Rachel begged again.

"My daughter..." Athena whispered.

_**What's the point of struggling? **_**they told her. _Your dead anyway. You'll never leave this place._**

Everyone was silent.

**She could sink to the bottom and drown,**

"No." The campers whispered their voices echoing in the breeze.

**let the river carry her body away.**

"Annabeth." Athena sounded angry.

**That would be easier.**

"True," Malcolm murmured. "But then you couldn't be a true daughter of Athena."

**She could just close her eyes...**

"Annabeth don't!" Poseidon roared, everyone stared at him. Poseidon shrugged, "I can be worried about my son's girlfriend, can I not?"

Everyone smiled.

**Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back into reality.**

The campers cheered.

"That's my boy!" Poseidon exclaimed, Athena rolled her eyes.

"For once he did something _useful_." The Goddess of war and wisdom muttered.

**She couldn't see him in the murky water, **

"How heart-breaking." Athena muttered, back to her usual self.

**but suddenly she didn't want to die.**

"Aww!" The Aphrodite campers squealed. Athena snorted,

"See what love can do to you?" She growled.

"Safe your life?" Poseidon offered. Athena cursed under her breath.

**Together they kicked upward and broke the surface.**

Cheers all around.

**Annabeth gasped, grateful for the air no matter how sulfurous. The water swirled around them, and she realized Percy was creating a whirlpool to buoy them up.**

"I can't believe it." Poseidon murmured amazement clear in his tone.

"I can!" Connor shouted, adding. "PERCY IS A BOSS!" Everyone laughed (minus Athena.)

**Though she couldn't make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river. River had shores.**

"Well done my daughter." Athena praised, Poseidon snorted.

"Your talking to a book." He mumbled, after a few moments of silence he added. "Probably not a new thing for you." Athena glared daggers at him.

**"Land," she croaked. "Go sideways."**

**Percy looked near dead with exhaustion.**

"Not good." Poseidon murmured glumly.

**Usually water reinvigorated him,**

Poseidon shook his head slowly. "Not this water."

**but not _this_ water.**

"I think like an Athena child!" Poseidon said happily.

"No you think like a fish!" Athena snorted. Everyone laughed/cried, these conversations reminded the campers of Percy and Annabeth's conversations.

**Controlling it must have taken every bit of his strength.**

"Come on Perce!" Grover begged.

"You can to it, son!" Poseidon murmured.

"For Annabeth..." Athena whispered, everyone gave her confused looks but she ignored them. Clarisse took that as a signal to continue.

**The whirlpool began to dissipate.**

"No." Poseidon breathed, "Come on Percy!"

**Annabeth hooked one arm around his waist and struggled across the current. The river worked against her: thousands of of weeping voices whispering in her ears, getting inside her brain.**

"Don't listen!" Chiron urged.

"They're lying!" Rachel added.

_**Life is despair, **_**they said. **

"No its not!" Butch spoke up, "Come on Annabeth! Percy!"

"You've beaten titans, giants. Concorde what was thought impossible, you _can_ do it." Katie promised her voice quiet.

**_Everything is pointless, _**

"Ignore them!" Athena pleaded, her steely gray eyes hardening.

**_and then you die._**

"Not true." Travis whispered.

**"Pointless," Percy murmured. **

"NO!" The entire camp screamed.

**His teeth chattered from the cold. He stopped swimming and began to sink.**

"PERCY!" Poseidon bellowed rising from his spot and pounding his trident against the ground, the canoe lake burst into a ten foot tower of water. All the campers stared at him.

"Poseidon. Sit. Down." Athena said, grabbing his arm and pushing him back into his spot.

**"Percy!" she shrieked. "The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus-the River of Lamentation. It's made of pure misery!"**

"Listen to her, Perce!" Clarisse murmured, not meaning for anyone to hear. Everyone of course did and they all grinned. Clarisse always acted like she hated Percy but deep down she cared for him.

**"Misery," he agreed.**

"Percy, please. I know what you mean to my daughter, you can't give up." Athena begged, everyone murmured agreement to worried to care about Athena's odd behavior.

**"Fight it!"**

"Listen to Annabeth!" Malcolm said.

**She kicked and struggled, trying to keep both of them afloat. **

"Help her, son." Poseidon murmured.

**Another cosmic joke for Gaea to laugh at: _Annabeth dies trying to keep her boyfriend, the son of Poseidon, from drowning._**

Despite themselves the campers chuckled. Even Chiron smiled, Athena of course was grinning and Poseidon looked angry.

"My son shall not drown." He said harshly, pounding his trident again and causing the lake to explode.

Everyone shut-up.

**Not going to happen, you hag, Annabeth thought. **

Connor and Travis chuckled, everyone shot them a look. Connor shrugged, "What? She called Mother Earth a hag!" He exclaimed, a few campers smiled and Travis and Connor continued laughing.

**She hugged Percy tighter and kissed him.**

The Aphrodite campers squealed, Athena groaned and Poseidon grinned like he'd just won the lottery.

** "Tell me about New Rome," she demanded. "What were your plans for us?"**

"Percy had _plans_?!" Athena roared, the Aphrodite campers looked about to explode from cuteness and they let out even more squeals. The other campers just smiled.

**"New Rome...For us..."**

"I want to know these _plans_!" Athena barked, the other campers gave her a strange look. While Poseidon chuckled softly.

**"Yeah, Seaweed Brain. You said we could have a future there! Tell me!"**

"A future eh?" Connor said, wiggling his eyebrows. Lou Ellen elbowed him, "OW!" Connor exclaimed and everyone burst out laughing.

"Shut-up Connor." Thalia muttered, fixing her attention back on Clarisse.

**Annabeth had never wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood. **

"There leaving?" Rachel wondered aloud, everyone else became suddenly quiet.

**It was the only real home she'd ever known. **

"Same." A ton of campers echoed.

**But days ago, on the _Argo II, _Percy had told her that he imagined a future for the two of them among the Roman demigods. **

"ROMAN DEMIGODS?!" Athena bellowed, "THE DEMIGODS THAT RIPPED ME OF MY WAR?!" She exploded and it was Poseidon's turn to grab her and pull her back to her seat. She glared at him but the Sea god ignored her.

**In their city of New Rome, veterans of the legion could settle down safely, go to college, get married, even have kids.**

"Kids." Athena muttered. The Aphrodite campers were grinning like maniacs.

**"Architecture," Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. "Thought you'd like the houses, the parks. There's one street with all these cool fountains."**

"Of course he'd like the street with the fountains." Jake muttered, which brought a few chuckles. Athena's eyes were wide and she seemed to be processing all the new information of her daughter and Percy wanting a future together.

**Annabeth started making progress against the current. **

Gasps of relief echoed through Camp Half-Blood.

**Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. **

"Thank the gods." Chiron whispered.

"Son..." Poseidon trailed off, a lone tear dripping from his eye.

**She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone's throw away.**

"Land. Land is good." Thalia murmured,

"But Tartarus land?" Jake asked, directing his question towards Chiron.

The centaur shook his head, "I don't know."

**"College," she gasped. "Could we go there together?"**

"Of course Annabeth is thinking about college." Thalia said with a smile.

"She's a true daughter of Athena." Lou Ellen agreed with a glance towards Athena.

**"Y-yeah," he agreed, a little more confidently.**

**"What would you study, Percy?" **

"Probably something related to water." Connor said with a smirk. Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"Dunno," he admitted.**

"Of course Percy doesn't know." Thalia said, smiling, she added. "He's always been a Kelp Head."

"Or in Annabeth's words a _Seaweed Brain._" Katie murmured.

**"Marine science," she suggested. "Oceanography?"**

"Annabeth and her fancy terms." Travis muttered, which received him a glare from Athena and her children.

**"Surfing?" he asked.**

Everyone burst into laughter, Poseidon looked quite pleased yet at the same time taken aback.

"How does she stand him?" Athena asked, "He's _such_ an idiot."

The campers just grinned.

**She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded into background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before-**

"Probably not." Jake said, grinning.

"Can monsters even laugh?" Chris asked.

Poseidon shrugged, "That is a good question." He said, Athena shook her head.

"That is the stupidest question I have ever heard!" She retorted.

Chris put a hand on his heart and fell to his knees. "You hurt me!" He exclaimed, the Athena campers glared at him and he quickly got up and sat down.

**just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.**

"Knew it!" Jake exclaimed, everyone groaned.

**She used the last of her strength to reach the riverbank. **

"Thank me." Poseidon said, everyone raised their eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" Athena questioned.

Poseidon smiled, "I can't thank the gods because I am one. So I thank myself, since I'm a god. Get it?" He said. Athena groaned.

"Your logic is _so_ bad!" She exclaimed, Travis and Connor chuckled giving Poseidon an air high five. The Sea god shrugged, returning the air five.

**Her feet dug into the sandy bottom. ****She and Percy hauled themselves ashore, shivering and gasping, and collapsed on the dark sand. **

"Come on Percy! Annabeth!" Thalia whispered.

"Get up!" Rachel begged.

**Annabeth wanted to curl up next to Percy and go to sleep. **

"Annabeth." Athena said softly, while the Aphrodite campers squealed.

**She wanted to shut her eyes, hope all of this was just a bad dream, and wake up to find herself back on the _Argo II_, safe with her friends (well...as safe as a demigod can ever be).**

All the campers nodded, they all wished their hero's were safe on the _Argo II _but they had to accept they truly were in Tartarus. Greek hell.

**But, no. They were really in Tartarus. At their feet, the River Cocytus roared past, a flood of liquid wretchedness. **

"Normally I don't say this about water but I _hate_ that water!" Poseidon muttered.

"Can't you do something? I mean your the Sea god." Malcolm asked, everyone looked at Poseidon hopefully. Poseidon shook his head.

"Its beyond my control."

**The sulfurous air stung Annabeth's lungs and prickled her skin.**

"Annabeth." Athena repeated.

** When she looked at her arms, she saw they were already covered with an angry rash. **

"No." Chiron whispered, a look of worry spreading across his face and making him look like he aged a thousand years.

**She tried to sit up and gasped in pain.**

"My daughter." Athena said her voice cracking.

**The beach wasn't sand. They were sitting on a field of jagged black-glass chips, some of which were now embedded in Annabeth's palms.**

"Ouch." Travis said jokingly, Katie slapped him.

**So the air was acid. **

"Check." Connor said, flicking the air as though checking a box on a list.

**The water was misery. **

"Check, check." Connor said, flicking another imaginary box.

**The ground was broken glass. **

"Check, check, check." He repeated, flicking yet another box.

**Everything here was designed to hurt and kill. **

"Check, check, check, che-" He was cut off when Clarisse got up and yanked his pants giving him a wedgie. She lifted him into the air.

"Not. Helping." She said, before dropping him and waking back to her seat.

**Annabeth took a rattling breath and wondered if the voices in the Cocytus were right. Maybe fighting for survival was pointless. They would be dead within the hour.**

"No. Annabeth don't listen to the water." Malcolm urged.

**Next to her, Percy coughed. "This place smells like my ex-stepfather."**

Everyone laughed, they could always count on Percy to crack a joke.

"When he comes back were making him an honorary member of the Hermes cabin." Travis said, the other Hermes campers muttered agreement.

**Annabeth managed a weak smile. She'd never met Smelly Gabe, but she'd heard enough stories. **

"Believe me, you don't want to meet him." Grover said with a gag.

"Didn't Sally use Medusa's head and turn him to stone?" Thalia asked, Grover nodded.

"Best decision she ever made."

**She loved Percy for trying to lift her spirits.**

The Aphrodite campers squealed more than thought possible while Athena shook her head though she was smiling slightly.

**If she'd fallen into Tartarus by herself, Annabeth thought, she would have been doomed. After all she'd been through beneath Rome, finding the Athena Parthenos, this was simply too much. She would've curled up and cried until she became another ghost, melting into the Cocytus.**

"Oh, Annabeth." Malcolm whispered, "I can't believe you saved the statue." He murmured, the other Athena campers nodded agreement.

**But she wasn't alone. She had Percy. And that meant she couldn't give up.**

"OH MY GODS!" Lacey exclaimed, "PERCABETH FOREVER!" She squealed. Poseidon raised an eyebrow.

"_Percabeth_?" He questioned.

Lacey nodded, "Its Percy and Annabeth's ship name!" She explained.

Poseidon frowned, "Ship name? Like shipping a package shipping?"

Athena groaned, "Your an idiot! Relation_ship, _its Annabeth and Percy's names put together." She explained, Poseidon grinned.

"Oh then Posthena is us?" He asked. Athena's eyes bugged.

"WHAT?!" She exclaimed, the Aphrodite campers giggled and Athena looked up at the sky. "I will get you Aphrodite." She promised.

Clarisse just sighed, deciding to continue reading.

**She forced herself to take stock. **

Grover sobbed, "That's my Annabeth!" He exclaimed which received a few strange looks.

**Her foot was still wrapped in its makeshift cast of board and Bubble Wrap, **

"What happened?" Malcolm asked, directing the question towards his mother. Athena sighed,

"Broken ankle." She muttered.

**still tangled in cobwebs. But when she moved it, it didn't hurt. The ambrosia she'd eaten in the tunnels under Rome must have finally mended her bones.**

"Thank me." Poseidon said with a chuckle. Everyone groaned.

**Her backpack was gone-lost during the fall, or maybe washed away in the river. She hated losing Daedalus's laptop, with all its fantastic programs and data, **

"Oh, Annabeth." Malcolm murmured, everyone looked at him, he blushed. "What? She loved that laptop!"

**but she had worse problems. **

"Agreed." Chiron muttered.

**Her Celestial bronze dagger was missing-**

"Luke." Thalia breathed, clenching her fists.

**the weapon she'd carried since she was seven years old.**

"Luke." Thalia repeated, her tone suddenly angry.

**The realization almost broke her, but she couldn't let herself dwell on it. Time to grieve later. **

"Yes." Travis agreed, he turned to his brother. "We must host a burial service for her dagger when she returns." He said, Connor nodded.

"Yes, we must." He agreed, everyone rolled their eyes and Katie and Lou Ellen elbowed the brothers.

**What else did they have?**

**No food, no water...basically no supplies at all. **

"What a great start." Connor said sarcastically, receiving yet another punch from Lou Ellen.

**Yep. Off to a promising start.**

"Ha!" Connor exclaimed, "I guessed right!" *cue punch from Lou Ellen*.

**Annabeth glanced at Percy. **

"Of course she did." Clarisse muttered.

**He looked pretty bad. His dark hair was plastered across his forehead, his T-shirt ripped to shreds. His fingers were scraped raw from holding on to that ledge before they fell. **

The campers gasped, "You mean?" Thalia said turning to face Athena and Poseidon. Athena pursed her lips, nodding slowly.

"Yes. Percy grabbed her hand and tried to pull Annabeth up. Put he didn't have enough strength...she, she told him to let her go...but Percy wouldn't. He said, he said that they were staying together no matter what-" Athena started, but Poseidon cut her off.

"So Percy let go and fell with her. Such a loyal son I have." He said with a weak smile, Thalia's eyes widened but she didn't reply.

The other campers were silent as well.

**Most worrisome of all, he was shivering and his lips were blue.**

"That's disgusting!" Drew exclaimed, Poseidon glared at her and Drew quickly continued. "Disgusting that he and Annabeth are stuck in Tartarus. I mean _so_ unfair." Poseidon gave Drew the: _I'm watching you_ signal before turning back to Clarisse.

**"We should keep moving or we'll get hypothermia," Annabeth said. "Can you stand?"**

"Come on, Percy!" Grover urged getting to his feet as though he were proving to Percy he could stand.

**He nodded. They both struggled to their feet.**

"Good. Good." Chiron murmured half to himself.

**Annabeth put her arm around his waist, thought she wasn't sure who was supporting whom. **

"Percy supporting Annabeth, Annabeth supporting Percy." Poseidon murmured with a sideways glance towards Athena, who nodded agreement.

**She scanned their surroundings. **

"Of course she did." Will said with a chuckle.

**Above, she saw no sign of the tunnel they'd fallen down. She couldn't even see the cavern roof-just blood colored clouds floating in the hazy gray air. It was like staring through a thin mix of tomato soup and cement.**

"And how would you know that, Annabeth?" Poseidon said with a small smirk, Athena gave him her famous glare and he shut up.

**The black-glass beach stretched inland about fifty yards, then dropped off the edge of a cliff. From where she stood, Annabeth couldn't see what was below, but the edge flickered with red light as if illuminated by huge fires.**

"Do you think?" Athena murmured with a glance at Poseidon and Chiron.

Chiron shook his head, "I don't know."

"Hopefully." Poseidon said.

The campers stared at them wondering what the heck they were talking about.

**A distant memory tugged at her-something about Tartarus and fire. **

The Athena campers smiled, "You think?" They asked Athena, she gave them a small smile while all the other campers stared at them confused.

**Before she could think too much about it, Percy inhaled sharply.**

"Oh no." Grover said, his voice quiet.

**"Look." He pointed downstream.**

**A hundred feet away, a familiar-looking baby-blue Italian car crashed headfirst into the sand. It looked just like the Fiat that had smashed into Arachne and sent her plummeting into the pit.**

"A _car_ crashed into Arachne?" Malcolm asked with a small smile, Athena nodded, chuckling a bit.

**Annabeth hoped she was wrong, but how many Italian sports cars could there be in Tartarus? **

"Probably none." Will whispered, campers muttered agreement.

**Part of her didn't want to go anywhere near it, but she had to find out. **

"Of course she did." Clarisse grumbled, "Princess needs to know _everything_." Her tone was angry but she was wearing a small smile.

**She gripped Percy's hand, **

"PERCABETH!" The Aphrodite campers screamed.

**and they stumbled toward the wreckage. **

"Bad idea." Athena muttered.

**One of the car's tires had come off and was floating in a backwater eddy of the Cocytus. The Fiat's windows had shattered, sending brighter glass like frosting across the dark beach. Under the crushed hood lay the tattered, glistening remains of a giant silk cocoon-the trap that Annabeth had tricked Arachne into weaving.**

"Annabeth tricked Arachne?" Malcolm said in wonder, Athena nodded her eyes shinning with pride.

** It was unmistakably empty. Slash marks in the sand made a trail downriver...as if something heavy, with multiple legs, had scuttled into the darkness.**

"That would be the spider lady." Connor said in an obvious tone.

**"She's alive." Annabeth was so horrified, so outraged by the unfairness of it all, she had to suppress the urge to throw up.**

The Athena campers looked like they were about to.

**"It's Tartarus," Percy said. "Monsters home court. Down here, maybe they can't be killed."**

"Thank you Mr Optimism." Clarisse muttered.

**He gave Annabeth an embarrassed look, as if realizing he wasn't helped team morale. "Or maybe she's badly wounded, and crawled away to die."**

"Nice safe, Percy." Connor said sarcastically, the campers laughed.

**"Let's go with that," Annabeth agreed.**

**Percy was still shivering. Annabeth wasn't feeling any warmer either, despite the hot, sticky air. **

"You can do it. Survive." Poseidon murmured.

**The glass cuts on her hands were still bleeding, which was unusual for her. Normally, she healed fast. Her breathing got more and more labored.**

"Annabeth." Athena gasped.

**"This place is killing us," she said. "I mean, it's _literally_ going to kill us, unless..."**

"The fire!" Athena exclaimed.

_**Tartarus. Fire. **_**That distant memory came into focus. She gazed inland toward the cliff, illuminated by flames from below.**

"Come on Annabeth..." Malcolm urged.

**It was an absolutely crazy idea. But it might be their only chance.**

"Crazy ideas are the best ideas." Thalia said with a smile.

**"Unless what?" Percy prompted. "You've got a brilliant plan, haven't you?"**

"She always does." Clarisse said, then her eyes widened. "I said that aloud?" She asked outraged, Thalia nodded with a smirk.

**"It's a plan," Annabeth murmured. "I don't know about brilliant. We need to find the River of Fire."**

Athena smiled, "I just hope it works." She murmured.

"We all do." Poseidon said with a weak smile.

* * *

**Again sorry for the wait, I'll try and update faster next time.**

**And if you guys have the time could you check out my other stories? There all PJO and I'd really appreciate if you read and reviewed them.**

**Anyway, hope writing that all down was worth it!  
**

**~Review!**


	3. Update

**Sorry, guys.**

**This isn't a chapter, just a little update.**

**I recently published a new fanfic called: ****_What Now? What Next?_**** Its a High School Musical fic and since those movies are so old I haven't been getting many reviews. **

**So, if you are a High School Musical fan then please, ****_please_**** check out my fic and review! **

**For all of you who aren't, well sorry for not updating this as a real chapter! **

**The good news is I'm halfway done with the next chapter so it should be up within a week! Or sooner since I have a four day weekend!**

**Anyway, if you are a fan of High School Musical check out my new story, and please review. The more reviews I get on that story the more likely I am to sit down at my computer and type up a new chapter.**

**Again sorry this isn't a new chapter, but I promise a new ones coming!**

**~Please check out my story. **


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